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Resilience Teams share resources and skills, save money, time and energy, and support each other through the ordinary and extraordinary challenges of life. Learn how to organize, facilitate and develop a Resilience Team with the free information, resources and downloads on this site.

ACTIVITIES

Resilience Teams decide what activities to pursue — from helping each other grow and preserve food, to prepping for emergencies, to learning new skills such as cooking, gardening, and composting, to working together to reduce carbon footprints. Along the way, teams have fun while building trust and relationships to help and support each other when times are good, or when life is more challenging.

WHY RESILIENCE?

Life is full uncertainties. Most of the time, it’s the everyday, garden variety of uncertainty. At other times, we are met with difficult challenges that can make life extraordinarily difficult.

Resilience is what enables us to adapt, recover and keeping going no matter what we face, and research shows time and again that individual resilience is far stronger when deeply rooted in a strong, supportive community.

ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY

Although life has always been uncertain, in an increasingly fragmented and volatile world, community ties that once supported us through crises can be difficult to maintain, and for some people, these types of connections have all but disappeared. When challenges come our way – whether ordinary or extraordinary – without community, it’s more difficult to be resilient.

Ordinary challenges might include stressful job changes, moving, trying to lose that pesky 10 pounds, or finding a reliable car mechanic. Extraordinary times might include short-term emergencies such as losing power during an ice storm or water rationing during drought. Examples of longer term challenges could include economic downturns, job loss, chronic illness, recovering from natural disasters such as storm damage or wildfires, or family disruptions (new babies, caring for elderly parents, death in the family).

GROWING COMMUNITY

While people often talk about yearning for community, they may not know how to go about creating it, how to reconnect with others in a meaningful way. After hearing from many that a framework to help small groups of people grow community would be useful, Transition OKC’s coordinating team created the Resilience Teams program for that purpose.

The program follows a simple process (documented in the information and resources found on this site) focused on helping people connect, celebrate good times, and support each other during more challenging times. With these free resources, you and your friends, family or colleagues, are empowered to grow your own community – your own “resilience team” to help make life more fun, fulfilling and secure.